Utility knives adapted to hold segmented blades are known. Such knives are commonly used to cut wallpaper, cardboard or other types of similar products. As the cutting edge of the endmost segment of the blade becomes dull due to repeated use, the endmost blade segment may be snapped off exposing a fresh blade segment having a fresh cutting edge. This process may be repeated until all of the blade segments have been used. The remainder of the blade may be removed from the knife and a replacement blade having multiple unused segments may then be inserted into the knife. This process may be repeated as long as replacement blades are available.
Most of these hand-held utility knives are adapted to retract the segmented blade so that the cutting edge of the endmost segment may be withdrawn into the interior of the knife when the knife is not being used. A knife capable of retracting the blade is generally safer than a knife in which the blade is not retractable. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,103,421 and 4,226,020 disclose knives having a cutting blade which may be fully or partially retracted and held in such a position.
One difficulty with using a knife with a segmented blade is that with repeated use, the cutting edge of the endmost blade segment will dull. The endmost blade segment must then be broken off from the remainder of the blade. Usually, some sort of tool is necessary to grasp or engage the endmost used blade segment and break it off from the remainder of the blade. Once the endmost blade segment is broken off, it must be discarded safely. Several knives such as the one disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,063,356 have been equipped with a device, often called an end cap, which may be removed from one end of the knife and used to snap off th e endmost segment of the blade. Such an end cap usually has a slot therein which is adapted to receive the endmost blade segment. One difficulty with using an end cap to snap off endmost blade segments is that once the endmost blade segment has been broken off from the remainder of the blade, there is no place for the used blade segment to be placed or stored safely. Consequently, the used blade segment may drop onto the floor where it may be picked up by a child or stepped on or otherwise cause harm to someone in the vicinity. Only if the user of such a hand knife is able to maintain pressure on the sides of the end cap while the endmost blade segment is located in the slot of the end cap will the used blade segment not fall away from the end cap onto the floor. If the user is able to hold the used blade segment with the end cap, the user may walk over to a trash can and properly dispose of the used blade segment. However, often the user is on a ladder or nowhere near a trash receptacle. Therefore, this method of breaking off and disposing used blade segments is not always practical. In addition, it is time consuming and requires a great deal of effort.
Another difficulty with using an end cap to break off an endmost blade segment is that often the user's hands are wet or dirty so, consequently, when trying to snap off the endmost blade segment with the end cap, the user's hands may slip and result in a skin cut. Because the slot in the end cap is relatively narrow, it is difficult to properly line up the slot in the end cap with the endmost blade segment. The user may miss the slot in the end cap, causing the cutting edge of the endmost blade segment to cut the user.
Knives have been developed which are adapted to store used blade segments temporarily. Examples of such knives are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,093,993 and 5,014,429. However, these knives are adapted to house or store a limited number of used blade segments. Additionally, proper disposal of these used blade segments is difficult once the storage space of the knife has been filled.
Another difficulty with using an end cap of a hand knife to break off blade segments is that two hands are required to remove the end cap from one end of the knife and place it over the endmost blade segment at the other end of the knife in order to properly snap off the endmost blade segment. Often when a user is on a ladder or in another such location, two hands are not available because the user must use one hand to hold himself or herself in place for safety purposes.
Therefore, it has been one objective of the present invention to provide a mechanism for holding and storing a utility knife and collecting used blade segments for proper disposal.
It has been a further objective of the present invention to provide an apparatus which is capable of being used with a utility knife having a segmented blade in which the endmost blade segment may be quickly and easily snapped off by the user with the use of only one hand.
It has been a further objective of the present invention to provide an apparatus adapted to store both a hand-held utility knife and a plurality of used blade segments which may be worn by a user comfortably.